Portable silo



S. D. RUTH son-mam: SILO Jan; 24, 1928.

Filed April 16 1927 g-noewloz Eli)" Patented Jan. 24-, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT o-Ft'ics.

samurai n; RUTH, or seawater, NEBRASKA, A$SIGNO3EL ro the JOHN H. v:srnnn oomrany, or emission, nnszaasne, s. oonronnrron or tvnnnnsrm.

PORTABLE SIIJO' Application filed April 16, 1927.

My invention relates to. silos and its primary object is the provisionof a portable or temporary silo construction. It is further more myobject to provide a portable SllO which may be folded into compact formand stored in a very small space when the silo is notin use. Another 01my objects is the provision of a silo construction of very low cost andthe'provision of features whereby the silo may be erected or taken downwith the minimum of labor, the silo walls being constructed ofhorizontal sections which may be added towhen filling the silo and whichmay be removed one at a time'when removingv the contents of the silo.

, I-Iaving in view these objects and others which will be pointed outinthe following description, I will now refer to the drawings, in whichFigurel is a view in perspective of a portion of the silo, the wallsbeing broken away to give an interior view of the silo and the wallconstruction.

Figure 2 is a view in horizontal section of a portion of the siloshowing one form of door which I may use in my silo construction.

Figure 3 is a similar view but showing a slight modification in the silodoor.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figures 2 and 3 but showing thedooropening entirely closed by the silo wall.

Figure 5 is a View in horizontal section of the silo when the usual silodoor is entirely dispensed with. t t

Figure 6 is a plan view ofportions of the material of the inside andoutside hoops which I use in the construction of the silo.

Anyform of door suitable for a silo may be used with my silo. The doorshown in Figuresl and 2 includes two spaced posts 10 which arepreferably anchored to the ground by sinking the lower ends in the soilor by securing them either permanently or removably to feet which aresunk in the soil. Secured to these posts on the inner sides of the siloare beams 11, the beams 11 being slightly narrower than the posts 10 topermit seating the door slats 12 between the edges of the beams 11 andagainst the posts 10. Secured to theposts 10 on their outer sides aresteps 13 which constitute a ladder. The bolts 14 secure the beams 10 andthesteps 13 rigidly to the posts 10. The door slats 12 may be secured inplace by passing bolts 15 through Serial No. 184,339.

the door slats and through the steps 13 as shown in Figure 2.

In carrying out my construction I employ fencing which is rigid in itsvertical direction. I find that the fencing which is made by weavingvertical slats into horizontal strands of wire is admirably adapted forthis purpose. Such fencing is available in'anumber of different widths,with slats of various thicknesses and with the slats variously spaced.The two strands ofwire completely surround the slat and they are twistedint-o one or more turns between each pair of adjacent slats. Suchfencing is moreover available in any desired length. The fencing which Iprefer to use in my silo construction has not to exceed tour twists inthe wire strands between slats.

In carrying out my invention I cut the fencing into suitable lengths soas to give the desired diameter to the silo. In assembling the door Ibring the ends of the tencing 16 against the posts 10 and then assemblethe parts of the door in theusual manner. l/Vhen the nuts on the bolts14 are drawn tight the two'ends of the fencing 16 will be tightlyclamped between the beams 11 and the posts 10 so that there is no dangerof slippage, and the fencing will bein more or less circular form, withits lower edge resting on the ground or on a suitable platform or wood,concreteor the like. The next section of fencing of equal length is thensecured to the doorin the same manner and with the ends of theslats'resting on the top ends of the slate of the lower section. Theconstruction may then be built up to any desired height.

The fencing alone would, of course, permit a portion of the silagetoleak away and it would expose alomst the entire outer portion of thesilage to the atmosphere. In

order to avoid these difficulties Iemploy' a suitable silo wall on theinner side of the fencing. For this purpose I have found that buildingpaper and roofing paper are very effective at a very low cost. Thematerial is relatively cheap, it is very flexible, itis a goodinsulatortorheat and it iswater proof. This material may, howeverbev'aried as desired since it is evident that a water proof fabric orany one of numerous other sheet materials will satisfactorily performthe functions of prote'ctingthe silage :trom the atmosphere. Thepapershould be lit) approximately the width of the fencing and it should becut in since so that its \GllLlCtll ed s will overlap. The outwardpressure of th .u lS(Z110ll1il()tl3,l3llllWlltlll the slats are placedsulliciently close together the paper cannot be forced out ardly throughthe fencing between the slats. The pressure of the silage, however,causes an expansion ot the fencineand with it an expansion of the paper.The vertical. laps in the paper are designed for the purpose oipermitting: the paper walls to yield without being; ruptured under thepressure of the silage. The chemical action in the silage combined withthe heat of fern'ientatiou cements the paper at the laps so that thewall becomes a single air-tight unit.

The El'IOI'lllOtlS pressure inside the silo no cessitates the use ofhoops on the outer side of the fencing between the sections of feneingaThe sections are thus lrept in vertical alignment by means of the hoops1'? and these hoops further reinforce and stre gthen the fencing". Toprotect the paper it all 18 from being forced outwardly by the internalpressure between the sections ol the fencing, there must be providedalso interhoops 19 at the joints in the fencing. In assembling; the silothe top edge of the paper 18 rests directly against the fencing at themeeting, edges of the joints 1 etueen two sections o'l fencing, and. thepaper strip 18 is so hung; that its lower edge will rest: against theinner surface of the hoop 19. The hoops 1.7 and 19 are secured togetheragainst opposite sides of the fencing by means of bolts 20. In order tofacilitate the assembling of the hoops and the fencing", one of thehoops, preferably the inner one 19, is formed with the usual bolt holesWhile the been 17 is termed with slots, since the lencing would besubject to slight variations, both in manufacture and in use, -thusmaking it dilllcult to align apertures in two hoops unless provisionwere made similar to that shown in Figure 6.

Because oi the simplicity of construction the silo may be erected at thetime. of filling the silo. Several units are first constructed in themanner already described and these are filled with silage. While thisfilling ac tion is going: on, additional units may he added and it onlynecessary then to ole rate the blower. The process is reversed whenusing the silage during the feeding season. When the level oi": thesilage be low the level ol. the lower edge of the top unit, the ion unitmay be removed and rolled up tor storage and additional units may besubsequently removed so that by the end of the season the entire silomay be stored away in a. compact bundle and in a small space.

The construction as above described may be varied in numerous Ways.Merely by iogr the con IOWII a. uuinlinrr :3, l, and 5, all

way of illustration .l have of modifications in Figure. cin 'mlying thesame basic id is as above descriliied. In Figure 3 the c. ruct'ion dittors from that of l i rure 2 only in the fact that the door slats 1E3are bolted directly to the posts 10 and that a single set ol? bolts ll"holds the door slats l9. the strut; ill and the lli'itflll. idly to theoat? lit". The

t ion dill'i trout the other .i'ucti in dial? the door slots arealtogether. the 'l'rnriiui l6 closing the doorway and beinglt'ilillllltl at its ends against one of the posts lit. in thisconstruction the lf i'filltllttl constitutes the door and the userenters the 1 by cliu'ibing, the steps 13" to the top section o lfencing. This hei ht Will, of course. be reduced as the sections offencing are l'tjll'ltll'tzftl from the top. The Figure etmstructiondiffers from all of the other constructions in that the doorway isentirely oi'iiittcd and that a sin n'le post ltl i employed. lfieci i tothe post 10 are e. 123 which protect laterally on both sides oi. thepost to serve a The 'l'encin tr 16" is bolted with its s lam-Jed betweenthe post bl and the bezun ll by means of bolts l-l" passing: through thebeam. the tencingt the post. and the steps. Tl merely cuui'iuu'ate andde scribe i d the ll is spared .pace between the silo. l t desired, theouter wall may be lined with paper but this is not necessary. Tuner andouter boo are sometimes do. table tor boltliu the tions of fencing inrertiizal :iligi uneut, but when the diameter ot the silo is not toogreat the hoops about the outer wall liuay be (iii-'- pensed with. sincethe function of the outer wall is to hold the straw in position againstthe inner wall of the silo. The tllfl may be erected and tilled but theere tion of the frost proo't Wall may be tlcl ri-wl until the busy seteon on the 'l'ari'o is over but bo'l' u'e severe Freezing u'eal'ier :cbin. ll should also be noted that the inuulatiiur u'mlerial a wasten'oduet of the to rm and the t it costs nothing but the labor cost at aseason when the farmers time worth the least.

The portable silo :u: above do ribed has; numerous advantages over thet-trio silo eonstructions which are usually regarded as more or lesspermanent. The term per-ma nent as applied to a silo is, however, amisnomer. The chemical. action due to the forn'ieutation of the silage,the bacterial action and the elements all combined tend to materiallyreduce the life of any silo construction regardless of whether it isbuilt of wood, brickor concrete. My construction has the advantage overthe so-called permanent silos in that it may be folded up and storedunder shelter Where it will not deteriorate under the action of the Windand rain. The great advantage of the portable silo is in the cost whichis but a mere fraction of the cost of erecting any of the prior silos.For this reason it appeals to tenant farmers as Well as to farmers whodo not wish to use a fixed location for the silo. The portable silo isflexible in that it can be built to any desired height and in anydesired diameter. The need for silage is governed by the feedingoperations and these vary more or less from year to year. The conditionof the crop in midsummer often determines whether or not it would bedesirable to convert the crop into silage. With my portable silo it isonly necessary to determine the requisite diameter needed for thefeeding operations and the requisite height necessary for storing theavailable crop. Both of these factors vary from year to year and so faras I know my portable silo is the only, silo which is flexible enough tobe adapted to take care of all the varying needs,

Having thus described my invention in such such full, clear, and exactterms that its construction and operation will be readily understood byothers skilled in the art to which it pertains, what I claim as new anddesire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A curved silo wall of fencing, said fencing consisting of a pluralityof rigid vertical slats in parallel and spaced apart relation and ofhorizontal strands of wire uniting said slats, and a layer ofsheets ofimpervious material on the inner side of said fencing.

2. A curved silo wall of fencing, said fencing consisting of a pluralityof rigid vertical slats in parallel and spaced apart relation and ofhorizontal strands of flexible Wire uniting said slats, and a layer ofsheets of impervious material on the inner side of said fencing, saidsheet-s being overlapping at their lateral edges and being adapted to becemented at the overlapping portion by the chemical action and heat andpressure of the silage during the curing of the silage.

3. A silo having a wall of superposed sections of fencing and a layer ofsheets of impervious material on the inner side of said fencing, and asecond wall surrounding said silo wall and spaced therefrom, the spacebetween said two walls being adapted to re ceive a heat insulatingmaterial, said fencin including a plurality of members arranged inreticulated form.

A- silo having a Wall of superposed sections of fencing and a layer ofsheets of impervious material on the inner side of said fencing, andbands of rigid material on the inner side of said fencing andoverlapping the joints thereof, said sheets of flexible material having.their upper edge portions clamped between said fencing and said bands ofrigid material and being freely suspended therefrom, said fencingincluding a. plurality of members arranged in reticulated form.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

SAMUEL D. RUTH.

